How to Clean the “Other” in Xiaomi Phone Memory: The Complete Guide

Why does the Other section take up gigabytes of memory on Xiaomi?

Have you ever gone into your Xiaomi, Redmi, or POCO storage settings and seen the mysterious “Other” section take up 10, 20, or even 30 GB? It’s not a system bug — it hides from the user the utility files, app cache, temporary data, and remnants of deleted programs. Unlike the explicit categories (“Photos”, “Video”, “Apps”), the “Other” section has no clear structure, and it cannot be cleaned by standard methods.

Compounding the problem, this garbage accumulates over time: MIUI updates, system logs, Google Play Services cache, remnants of messengers (especially Telegram and WhatsApp) and even data from Xiaomi Cloud all fall into the Other, which results in the user seeing that the memory is full, but does not understand where the gigabytes went. Today we will figure out how to safely clean this partition without resorting to resets or root rights.

What exactly is hidden in the “Other” section?

Before you start cleaning, it is important to understand what this section consists of.

• 📁 Cache of system applications - temporary files MIUI, Google Play Services, Mi Account and other pre-installed services.
• 🗑️ Remnants of Remote Applications – Not all programs are deleted completely, leaving folders in the folder behind. /data/data.
• 📊 Logs and dumps of the system - error report files (/data/anr, /data/tombstones), clutter-producing.
• 🔄 Temporary update files — MIUI Downloads updates in the background, but does not always delete them after installation.
• 📱 Migration data – if you were transferring data from your old phone over Mi Mover, some of the files may have stayed in the system.
• 🌐 Web representation cache – some applications (such as Mi Browser) store web pages in encrypted form.

Interestingly, the composition of the Other may differ from Xiaomi to model, such as the POCO F5 with MIUI 14, which is dominated by system logs, and the Redmi Note 12, which is the Google Play Services cache, and to determine exactly what is taking up space on your device, you will need to analyze through ADB or specialized utilities.

Method 1: Cleaning the cache of system applications

The safest and fastest method is to remove the cache of pre-installed services, many of which (e.g. Mi Video, Mi Music, GetApps) accumulate gigabytes of unnecessary data even if you are not using them.

How to clean:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select "Show all processes."
3. Sort applications by cache size (click on "Storage").
4. Select large cache apps (e.g. Google Play Services, MiuiDaemon, Download Provider) and click Clear Cache.

⚠️ Warning: Do not clean data (not “clean storage”!) of system applications – this can cause malfunctions MIUI. The cache is safe to remove because it is automatically restored.

Method 2: Delete temporary files via Storage Analyzer

MIUI has a built-in storage analysis tool called Storage Analysis, but it doesn't always show the full picture, but it can delete some of the files you don't need.

1. Open the Settings → Storage → Storage Analysis.
2. Wait for the scan to be completed (it may take 1-2 minutes).
3. Scroll down to the “Other” section and click on it.
4. The system will prompt you to delete "Unnecessary Files" - confirm the action.

This method removes:

• 🗃️ Temporary files APK (leftovers after application installation).
• 📄 Empty folders and duplicates.
• 🔍 Search Logs and History of Embedded Applications.

However, Storage Analysis does not clear the system services cache and hidden MIUI folders, which will require additional actions.

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If the Other section fills up quickly again after cleaning, check the sync settings in Mi Cloud. disable automatic download backups of applications you are not using.

Method 3: Manual cleaning through ADB (no root)

For advanced users, there is a way to delete hidden files without obtaining root rights – through Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which requires connecting the phone to a computer, but allows you to delete what is not available through the standard interface.

Instructions:

1. Turn on "Debugging by" USB» In Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (Press 7 times to unlock the developer menu, then return to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
2. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.
3. Open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) and type:

adb shell pm trim-caches 256M

This command forcibly clears the cache of all applications, limiting its size to 256 MB. For deeper cleaning, you can use:

adb shell rm -rf /data/local/tmp/*


adb shell rm -rf /data/log/*

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files in /data/data manually, it will cause the applications to crash, and the commands above are safe, because they only clean the temporary data.

Method 4: Use of third-party utilities (with caution!)

There are apps on Google Play that promise to clean up the Other (like Files by Google, SD Maid, CCleaner).However, most are either inefficient or require root rights. The only app that can help without root is Storage Analyzer & Disk Usage.

How to use it:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Give access to the vault.
3. Select “System Analysis” and wait for the scan.
4. In the “Big Files” or “Unnecessary Data” section, look for junk folders (e.g. /data/log, /cache).
5. Remove them manually (the app will show you the way).

⚠️ Note: Do not delete folders with the names com.android, com.xiaomi or miui - this can disrupt the system).

Method 5: Resetting cache via Recovery (extreme case)

If none of these methods worked, and the Other still takes tens of gigabytes, the last option is to reset the cache through Recovery mode, which will not delete your data, but will clear all temporary files of the system.

How to do this:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up until the Mi logo appears.
3. From the Recovery menu, select “Wipe & Reset” → “Wipe Cache”.
4. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

This method removes:

• 🔄 Cache of all applications and systems.
• 📁 Temporary update files MIUI.
• 🗑️ Logs and memory dumps.

⚠️ Warning: Don't choose "Wipe Data" - this is a full factory reset of the phone! cache clears with a separate option.

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Recovery cache reset is the most radical but effective way, and use it if other methods fail, but remember that after a reboot, the phone may be slower as the system recovers the cache.

How to prevent the “Other” from being refilled?

Cleaning up the Other is a one-off solution, so that the problem doesn't come back, follow these tips:

• 🔄 Clean the cache regularly (once every 1-2 months) through Settings → Warehouse → Cleanup.
• 🚫 Turn off automatic update downloads in Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → Settings (⚙️) → Downloading.
• 📱 Uninstall unnecessary system apps (e.g. Mi Music, Mi Video) ADB: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.videoplayer
• 🔒 Limit background activity for Google Play Services and MiuiDaemon in battery settings.
• 📁 Use cloud services for backups instead of local storage.

If you frequently install and remove applications, it is recommended that you reset your cache every six months through Recovery, which will prevent the accumulation of garbage.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi's "Other" section